Expansion of Medicaid in Michigan moves to state Senate WITH VIDEO

Off on a nine-day trade trip to Israel, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder left last Saturday in a good mood about expanding Medicaid coverage in the state.

The state House the day before had passed legislation allowing the federally-backed expansion, and Snyder was hopeful the Michigan Senate would follow suit by the time he returns.

It was on the Senate calendar Wednesday afternoon, but with no guarantee by mid afternoon it would move along by the end of the day's session.

Expanding Medicaid coverage for the low-income and poor in Michigan is part of the federal Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and puts the Republican governor at odds with tea party Republicans who remain opposed to an expansion of the federal government into health care.

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Snyder had made an expansion of Medicaid a budget priority earlier this year, but state lawmakers recently passed a state budget that didn't include the expansion.

But for Snyder, the expansion makes good financial and health sense.

"This is something, done the right way, where we'd move people from an uncontrolled, unmanaged system, where they go to the emergency room, to a primary care relationship, where they can have a physician relationship, they can get physicals, they can get immunizations, and hopefully avoid those ER visits and be healthier overall, which saves all of us money," Snyder said prior to his departure to the Middle East. "It makes their quality of life better and it saves society money, so I view this, done right, as a savings to society.

"And I think there's very broad-based support from the business community to individuals to small business," the governor said. "I think the hospitals, the health plans, most people, are clearly behind putting a plan like this in place."

Snyder estimates using federal money to expand Medicaid coverage to people up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level will mean health coverage for more than 400,000 state residents and a 46 percent reduction in the number of uninsured.

A Senate Fiscal Agency analysis of the bill sent to the Senate by the House concludes that even as federal money to support the expansion is gradually decreased, it'll still take 15 years before the state's cost of expanding Medicaid in Michigan exceeds the savings the state will generate.

In southeast Michigan, that could mean a lot to nearly 500,000 with no health coverage in Oakland, Wayne, Macomb and Washtenaw counties.

Contact Charles Crumm at 248-745-4649, charlie.crumm@oakpress.com or follow him on Twitter @crummc and on Facebook. More information is at oaklandmichiganpolitics.blogspot.com. Keep up with the latest in local news by texting OPNews to 22700. Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.